


What Legends are Made Of

by fairlydynamite



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Battle Royale Fusion, Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Alternate Universe - Video Game World, Angst, Canon Non-Binary Character, Gun Violence, Guns, Human Experimentation, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Science Experiments, Self-Discovery, Slow Burn, Superpowers, Video Game Mechanics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:54:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28059513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairlydynamite/pseuds/fairlydynamite
Summary: Every single one of them has a reason to fight for their lives and win the games. Some fight for glory and fortune, others are looking for answers. But at the end only one of them will survive.Who will become the next Apex Champion?
Relationships: Jeon Jungkook/Park Jimin, Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Min Yoongi | Suga, Kim Namjoon | RM/Kim Seokjin | Jin
Comments: 7
Kudos: 6





	1. World's Edge

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this pic is heavily based on the battle royale game, Apex Legends, which is one of my absolute favorites, so i decided to bring its into it!
> 
> please let me know what you think of the idea and your impression of the fic. 
> 
> i'd recommend watching the trailer to see the characters powers in action!  
> ==> https://youtu.be/QvbU7BU7IdI
> 
> all of the characters belong to respawn entertainment.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Jungkook.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've added pictures to this chapter!
> 
> trailer of the fic: https://youtu.be/QvbU7BU7IdI

* * *

The Frontier War is over. After decades of conflict between the IMC (Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation) and militia founded to fight them, the region of space known as the Frontier can finally see peace.

But liberation can come at a cost: the Frontier worlds were left barren by the war, and promised aid dwindled to nothing. With no way to support themselves, those who remained had no choice but to leave their homes. The braves relocated to the Outlands.

A remote cluster of planets on the fringes of the Frontier, the Outlands are untouched by war and teeming with resources and opportunity. But life is cheap here, and danger lurks around every corner. Its pioneers, explorers and outlaws used to spend their lives locked in an endless power struggle – now, they settle their differences in the Apex Games, a bloodsport where competitors from all corners of the Frontier compete for money, fame and glory.

Will you join this year's Apex Games and become a Legend?”

* * *

The loud grumbling of the dropship’s engine had woken up Jungkook from his slumber, looking out the window and realizing they have arrived. He sighed as he collected his belongings from his seat. It had been a long journey from his home planet, Typhon all the way to hot and humid Talos, and to say he was exhausted would be an understatement.

Luckily, he didn’t have much, just his old worn-out backpack with his clothes and a tiny messenger bag where he kept his wallet and a few snacks for the trip. The line to get off the ship took a couple of minutes, which honestly made him just want to phase out and get to the train station as soon as possible.

His new home was still a couple of miles away from the station. From what he was told, he was assigned a shared apartment, which didn’t sound pleasing to him in the slightest, in a small city called the Sky Hook. It’s the first time he visited the planet, so Jungkook had no knowledge of how far away it was, just knew that he needs to take the next train to get there. 

He stepped forward in line and walked on the green and white ramp that had deployed from the ship onto the ground. Loud and energetic people surround him talking animatedly about the games, it isn’t unusual for people his age to be excited about participating, but he honestly couldn’t relate. Jungkook could care less about the fame or wealth that winning the games brought, all he truly wanted were answers.

Stepping out of the dropship, he was met by the scalding heat of Talos and he immediately regretted only owning black clothes. He adjusted his hoodie to cover most of his face and protect his eyes from the overwhelming brightness. His eyes were annoyingly sensitive due to him living his whole life indoors – or at least from what he remembers.

Brightly colored eyes were common in 2733, however, Jungkook has yet to meet someone with the same eye color as his, or rather lack of. There were severely aspects that made him insecure about his body, but his completely white eyes were certainly what he most despised. And if that wasn’t enough, they seemed to have a blueish glow whenever he was angry, anxious… or ready to use his powers.

He made his way towards the train station keeping his hands tightly around the straps of his backpack, admiring the tall mountains that surrounded the place. A bright orange and black building came into his view, decorated with colorful banners promoting the games, showing different pictures of past champions of the arena. At the entrance, a few security guards were checking the competitors’ identification and confirming they were registered on the system. Again, a long line of people awaited him.

Jungkook considered using his powers again, _void jumping,_ phasing out from this dimension and moving to the front of the line, however he didn’t really know if it was against the rules to use his abilities outside of the competition. So, after debating with himself for a couple of seconds, he let out a defeated sigh and made his way towards the end of the line.

He could feel his social energy draining already. Despite not interacting with any of the other participants, Jungkook wasn’t used to… people. He tended to dissociate himself from whatever was going in front of him and hide in his thoughts— which was probably a defense mechanism after all the trauma he faced.

Even though Jungkook would label himself as an extremely anxious person, the choice of participating in the games didn’t make him nervous at all. He simply didn’t have anything to lose. As soon as he heard that this year’s Apex matches would be held in Kings Canyon where the old IMC facilities were, he knew he had to participate. This was his chance to discover everything about the experiments done to him and eventually find out who he was.

You see, as technology continued to improve throughout the years, the human race started to look for ways to improve the average person by merging them with technology. Some people acquired powers by accident, others by manufacturing their own robotic devices, however, others were not so lucky. A few individuals were victim of famous corporations ran by greedy scientists who looked for “guinea pigs” to test their latest discoveries. The IMC, known as the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation, did exactly that. They focused on interstellar mining of every planet’s resources, robotics, and most importantly the creating of, what they called Titans. Sadly, Jungkook had been one of their test subjects. 

For him, his life had started when he was 16 years old. Everything he knew were drugs forced into his system, testing, prodding, pain, and the four grey walls of his cell. He even believed his name was Test Subject 61137 until he overheard one of the doctors calling him Jungkook while filling up his daily form. He was their precious and most successful experiment, one of the only ones that survived after being constantly experimented on, which meant he was kept under strict surveillance.

Understanding his powers was difficult enough for him. Staring with the fact that he wasn’t aware about how there were different dimensions and there was a possibility to travel between them. So, just waking up being able to manipulate spacetime and create portals through different realities wasn’t really an easy concept to grasp. It was fair to say that he didn’t fully comprehend how powerful he was.

He would only use his powers when they asked him to: open a portal, see how far can you go, how pain can you take while trying to phase, how many times can you create a portal a day. It was the least to say that he was constantly tired, hungry and especially anxious. Every trial demanded an immense amount of effort from him, leaving him shaking, huddled up in a corner of his cell, begging them to stop. 

Another addition to his ability were the voices, which presented after an exhausting night with scientists beating him to a pulp to see if his powers were affected by pain. A voice, identical to his broke his internal turmoil with a quiet: “Are you okay?”. He immediately thought he had— finally– lost his mind and started crying hysterically, sobbing into his hand trying to muffle any sound that escaped his mouth. He wasn’t successful and the sound still disturbed one of the scientists keeping watch on him. The other didn’t hesitate to go inside his cell to… quieten him. Ever since then, the voices appeared more regularly, and he tried his best to not react when he heard several versions of himself giving him instructions or warning him about things that were about to happen. It was very uncomfortable, and it gave him the sensation that he was constantly being watched, but he didn’t have much of a choice rather than just adapt. 

Soon enough Jungkook realized that if he kept living like this, he wasn’t going to survive, and that was motivation enough to try to come up with a plan to escape the facility. It took him a couple of weeks, a few sleepless nights in which he debated with himself if it was really worth the risk, and a lot of practice after finishing his daily “training” to get the hang of his powers. The time finally came on a particular lonely night near the holidays, in which there weren’t a lot of doctors around. He focused all of his energy as he had practiced, and soon enough purple sparks were coming from both of his arms.

‘Phasing’ or “Void jumping” was a concept introduced to him with his powers. At first, he had no idea what the term truly meant. Was he able to teleport anywhere he wanted? Could he escape by just a blink of an eye? It turned out, he couldn’t. Phasing meant he ‘disappeared’ from the human eye, he disappeared from that dimension or reality, but he could still navigate through it. So, in reality, phasing was just a cool word for turning invisible, with a few perks, for a limited amount of time (that depended on how much his body was able to handle traveling through dimensions). 

He took a deep breath, calming his racing heart, shakily putting his hands together. There was a second of eerie silence, his eyes were eyes tightly squeezed shut, too nervous to check if it had worked. Soon enough, the familiar static sound filled his head, he tried moving his hands around and found he was no longer handcuffed to the bed post. Hesitantly, Jungkook opened his eyes, noticing how his surroundings were now blurry and tinted purple. He had done it; he had managed to phase.

Euphoria filled his body as he all but ran through the halls of the facility unaware of the chaos of siren alarms and scientists running from one side to the other trying to find him. But he was long gone from the laboratory. Jungkook could fill himself smiling as he ran as fast as he could, until his lungs protested. Soon enough, he was outside, out from his nightmare, out from his tormentors, but also out from all he had ever known.

As soon as he was out of energy he came out of the phase and tried to catch his breath, body shaking with adrenaline and slight dread because: What now? That night he walked around the forest with the humid temperature of Solace making his body stick to the hospital robe. He flinched at every sound and took in his surroundings. It was the first time he saw the moon, the stars… the sky. He had never felt grass underneath his feet, touched a tree or seen a bird before. He wandered across Kings Canyon, completely fascinated by everything that surrounded him. A few tears rolled down his cheeks as he realized how much he had missed from the outside world.

He had spent a couple of days walking as far as he could from the labs, sleeping in secluded alleyways or house doorsteps and waking up before the owner could find him. Jungkook practiced using his powers to steal a little bit of food and water, even clothes, to keep him going through the day. He couldn’t help to feel guilty after seeing the look of confusion on the people he stole from. However, the voices reassured him that he would have to break a few rules in order to survive.

Eavesdropping was Jungkook’s main source of information. That’s how he learned about the Air Base a few miles south from the small rundown town he was staying at in Slum Lakes. He learned about the dropships that traveled to different planets every day and that immediately set him off to action. He collected (stole) all the tokens he could and soon found himself with a new passport and a ticket to the first flight of the day.

He ran his hand over his shaven head as he nervously waited for the ship to take off and finally say goodbye to Solace and especially Kings Canyon. He was determined to never come again and start off fresh in— Tylon? Tyton?— another planet.

Or at least that what he had thought, until 5 years later the Apex Games announced that they were using the abandoned lands of Kings Canyon as their new arena. Jungkook signed up as soon as he could without any knowledge on how to use a gun, ready to explore the old IMC laboratory in which he was locked in to find answers about his past.

_You’re up next._

His own voice broke him out of his thought as he realizes he was now at the front of the line and the buff security guard holding a see-through tablet was looking at him expectantly. He shuffled forward and took out his black wallet from his worn-down messenger bag.

“Name?”. The guard raised an eyebrow, looking at him up and down.

Jungkook just cleared up his throat, “Jungkook”.

The guard shot him an unimpressed look. “Full name, kid.”

He furrowed his brows and glared at the guard. “I don’t have a last name. That’s it”. He had gone through this same situation, several times. He never bothered to make up a fake last name, so he simply went by Jungkook until he found out what his last name was.

The guard shifted in his spot and suddenly looked uncomfortable, “Well, in that case, please give me your registrations number”.

_972484_

Sometimes he appreciated hearing variations of his own voice in his head.

He repeated the number, and the guard nodded while typing his information. “Ah, yes. Jungkook, Sky Hook”. He gave him a turquoise holographic ticket, “Please refrain from using your abilities on the train which may cause the injury of yourself and others. The train will leave in 15 minutes, so I advise you to hurry up”. Jungkook nodded his head slightly, murmuring a soft thank you, and went through the automatic orange automatic doors.

As soon as he’s inside the building, he brushed off his black hoodie and tied his long raven black hair in a bun as he took in his surroundings. The station was decorated with holographic balloons, orange and white seats facing the train tracks, colorful vending machines offering all kind of snacks and beverages that made Jungkook’s mouth water. People with bright clothes and eccentric hairstyles were boarding a white train with orange strips— a recurring color scheme for World’s Edge apparently. Robots on every train entrance were helping the participants find the right cabin and seat. He checked his ticket for his seat number and made his way towards one of the train doors. A robotic voice announcing the departure of the Sky Hook train in 10 minutes.

Normally, Jungkook liked wearing black clothes because he blended in. But that wasn’t the case at all. He stood in the middle of the crowd with his oversized black hoodie, black cargo pants and chunky boots—standing out like a sore thumb. And let’s not even mention his extremely pale skin, a consequence of him never leaving his house and phasing whenever he was outside. If it weren’t for the security guard’s order, he would’ve void jumped directly to his seat to avoid any nuisances. 

Competitors were making small talk between themselves and Jungkook just curled into himself flinching away when his body makes contact with another person. He tried his best to remain calm as he approached the friendly robot by the entrance.

All the robots on the train looked the same. They didn’t resemble a human being in any way. Their entire body was white with the red Apex logo on their chest, with disproportionate long limbs and a round head with a small screen that lit up when they spoke.

“Hello, Jungkook! Your seat is number 35-AX. Please proceed to your right and listen to your captain for further instructions!”. the chirpy voice of the robot greeted him. He just nodded in acknowledgment, making his way inside the train to his right.

The train was divided into two rows, each containing two seats—which meant he was going to have a partner for the trip. He found his spot rather quickly and took off his backpack before placing it on the overhead compartment before settling on his spot next to the window. The same voice from earlier announced that the train would be leaving in 5 minutes as Jungkook sank softly on the comfortable leather and closed his eyes.

_Someone’s coming._

His eyes shot open as he heard metal footsteps rapidly approaching from the middle hallway. A running boy that seems to be his age stopped at his row and smiled at him, making Jungkook wish he could just vanish already. Green vibrant eyes were looking at him, black curly and messy hair held back with green goggles and- was he wearing a crop top? his legs completely robotic from over the knee.

“Whoa! What a rush! I almost missed the train.” The boy exclaimed loudly smiling in the shape of a heart. He placed a bunch of suitcases on top of their seats and plopped himself next to Jungkook. “I’m Jung Hoseok, nice to meet ya there!”

_Danger._

Jungkook resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He stared coldly at the newcomer but ‘Hoseok’ didn’t seem to notice, he didn’t wait for an answer either, “I, for sure thought that I wasn’t gonna make it, but— Who am I kidding! I’m probably faster than this train”. 

He let out a breathy laugh and ran his hand through his messy locks. “Of course, I’m carrying a bit of weight which probably slows me down but hey! I wasn’t going to leave my gaming equipment back home”.

 _He’s annoying_.

Apart from not being used to people, Jungkook didn’t really... like people. He spent most of his time alone and the only contact he had with others was to inflict him pain, so excuse him from not wanting to socialize.

“I assume you don’t talk much... well who cares I can do most of it anyways, you don’t even have to worry mi amigo”. At this Jungkook tightened his fists, he didn’t really have tolerance for anything that annoyed him, his lack of social skills made him react to negative situations by vanishing.

Hoseok clearly couldn’t take the hint and leaned closer into his seat causing Jungkook to press himself against the window as much as he could. “Wow dude~! your eyes are glowing blue are you aware of that is that some medical condition or-“

The robotic voice interrupted him, thankfully, and announced that the train would be leaving the station, which made Jungkook let out a sigh of relief. Hoseok seemed to forget about harassing Jungkook and started making conversation with the person on the next row. The sound of the train moving on the train tracks relaxed him and soon enough lulled him to sleep.

***

The feeling of someone poking his arm woke him up violently

_Get out_

_Danger_

_You need to get out of there_

_They found you_

He jostled in his seat with wide eyes and tried to escape the stranger’s touch. As soon as he opened his eyes, he’s met with Hoseok with both of his hands raised defensively, “Oye, chill bro, I was just gonna wake you up to tell you we arrived at Sky Hook”

“I’m not your bro. Don’t touch me.” Again, Jungkook eyes glowed blue and he was glaring daggers at Hoseok who only waved his hand dismissively.

“Relax, pick up your stuff and let’s go, unless you want to stay and live on the train”. He grinned playfully as he stood up from his seat and grabbed his ridiculous amount of baggage. Thankfully, he didn’t wait for Jungkook, because if he did, he was sure he was going to open a portal just to toss Hoseok in it.

Jungkook stretched his sore body and grabbed all of his belongings before quickly getting out of the train.

The Sky Hook station, was definitely smaller and cozier, nothing bright or flashy just a few poster vending machines and a couple of screens showing the next train schedules. Still, Jungkook was a little amazed.

He checked his train ticket which now had changed completely to a map of Sky Hook and had a red blinking dot which he assumed would be his apartment building. He made his way out of the station avoiding the large and loud crowds of other competitors. Once outside, he was met with the night breeze and started making his way towards the city.

He couldn’t help but open his mouth in awe, there were several tall buildings surrounding a big circular one that had a long antenna that truly looked like a hook. The small city was surrounded by tall mountains which made it feel more secluded and perfect— that was perfect for Jungkook. He looked at his ticket one again and decided to phase to that location, he wasn’t in the mood to keep hearing people screaming. 

So, he focused all of his energy, purple sparks forming on his arms and— he was phasing, the city turned blurry and a purple hue and static filled his ears. He moved swiftly across the city without having to worry about awkward encounters with any other participants because for them, Jungkook wasn’t there, he wasn’t in their dimension.

When he found the building, he came out of phase when he was sure no one was around to avoid any surprises. He shakily came back and smiled softly to himself. the building looked smaller than some of the other ones and had “a half a pyramid” shape.

Making his way to the entrance, he was greeted by a fancy lobby, everything looked expensive, red burgundy carpet with white walls with a few paintings of The Frontier. To his left, there was the elevator and to his right, there was a reception desk with a blue robot that looked like the ones in the train standing in front of it. Rather than having the Apex logo in his chest, this one had a screen that showed a happy face.

“Good evening, friend! My name’s Pathfinder, and I will be your host tonight!”. The screen changed to a moon and Jungkook smiled gently, he didn’t particularly get along with people, but robots were always programmed to be nice.

Pathfinder stood in front of him for a few seconds and his screen changed to a heart. “Hello Jungkook! Welcome to building SH-05, your room floor is number 7, you may find the dining room in floor number 8 and the gym on floor number 9”. His screen kept changing to the floor numbers and Jungkook couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh. “If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask! Have a wonderful night, friend.”

Jungkook turned to the elevator without saying anything but before he pressed the button to his floor, he muttered “Thank you, Pathfinder”.

The robot screen changed to a smiley face with heart eyes before exclaiming “You’re welcome, friend. I love you too!”.

Smiling once again, Jungkook pressed the golden button right next to the 7 and the elevator´s doors closed. He could already feel the exhaustion of the day kicking in, he was absolutely ready to take a shower and go straight to bed.

When the elevator’s door opened, he couldn’t stop the gasp that left his mouth. Jungkook had never owned anything... nice. He lived in a cell for almost 17 years of his life, then he slept on the street for a couple of months, and even on his home planet, he had a studio apartment with just one room and a rusty single bed.

He had never had anything like the room in front of him. Carefully he stepped out of the elevator, blinking slowly to check if it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

The room had a grey marble floor with black walls, covered in different art pieces just like the lobby, a king-sized bed in the middle against the wall full of the fluffiest pillows, a holographic tv in front of it showing his schedule for the week, a big closet beside a dresser and a mirror, a window the size of the wall that allowed him to see the scenery of the city at night. A white door with a golden door was on his left and he assumed it was the bathroom.

Still taking careful steps he took his boots off before dirtying the floor and walked around with his mismatched socks still looking around in amazement. He took off his backpack and gingerly placed it on the soft bed taking out his clothes which consisted of 3 black shirts, one pair of skinny jeans, one pair of joggers, his fingerless gloves, and underwear.

He walked towards the closet to open it and much to his surprised there were some black gym clothes with Apex Games written on them in white, as well as one shirt with just the logo. He quickly put his clothes away and went to check out the bathroom.

The bathroom, like the bedroom, looked extremely expensive, a big bathtub with a golden shower head and a huge marble sink with a mirror with a couple of spare toothbrushes on top and different bottles of products.

He got rid of his clothes quickly putting them in the white hamper in the bathroom and grabbed one of the towels. He would have to sort out his laundry situation because he didn’t have enough clothes for the time he was staying here.

After getting undressed, he made the mistake of looking at himself in the sink mirror. To be fair the tiny bathroom at his apartment back home didn’t have one because he had punched him after having a panic attack. But this one definitely had one, and the bright light on top of him, made every scar stand out.

His hands were covered in them, probably a consequence of his body not being used to the “purple sparks”. Dark pink lines ran from his knuckles all the way to his elbows, they branched off in fractals making it look like he’d been struck by lightning. He had some scars on his chest and back from when the beating at the lab got too rough. He found his eyes staring back at him at his reflection, completely white eyes that looked straight out of a horror film.

It was at times like this where Jungkook wondered what had they done to him?

With a shaky sigh, he tried to regain his composure and got into the bathtub turning the shower head. When he felt the warm water falling on his skin, he swore he would start sobbing, he took all the time in the world getting himself clean enjoying his shower. When he got out, he opened his new closet with the towel hanging on his waist and grabbed his pair of joggers and the Apex shirt they had gifted him, going back to the bathroom to change quickly and brush his teeth. And as soon as he got to bed, he was asleep.

***

Jungkook had nightmares. It was almost inevitable that he would end up with some kind of PTSD after all that he had gone through. He dreamed of the labs, syringes, pain, begging, crying, passing out. So, when he woke up suddenly after dreaming about how they used to drown him in the facility to force him to phase… he decided that he had enough sleep.

He rubbed his eyes and looked out the window. The sun barely rising between the mountains, pink skies with white clouds decorated the city, and Jungkook couldn’t help but find himself mesmerized. The scenery was so calm and quiet that it made him smile. He loved silence, it wasn’t something that he got often, so he appreciated it anytime he had the chance.

The voices in his head helped him, that was for sure, but they were also affected by his paranoia, anxiety, or whatever emotion he was feeling, and sometimes it could be overwhelming. Whenever he could sit back and relax was a moment he would cherish.

He slowly got up and put on a black shirt and his cargo pants from yesterday and walked to the bathroom to change and get ready. Jungkook wasn’t sure of what his plans were for the day, he knew that sooner or later he would have to meet the people he was sharing building with, but he wanted to delay that as much as possible. Quickly combing through his hair before tying it up in a bun. He put on his boots and fingerless gloves that reached past his elbows and pressed the elevator button to call it.

Usually, he wouldn’t bother grabbing something for breakfast, but Jungkook wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass. After seeing how luxurious his stay was going to be, he decided to enjoy everything that was offered to him.

The elevator doors opened with a soft ding, and he entered, thankful that it was empty. Remembering Pathfinder’s message, he reluctantly pressed the golden button with the number 8 on it. He leaned against the wall as the elevator went up to the next floor. As the doors opened, he heard soft chatter making him want to close the doors and just walk around the city finding something to eat somewhere different.

_You’re safe_

Jungkook wanted to scoff at the stupid remark voice but decided against it and took a deep breath. The dining room didn’t look as fancy as the rest of the building, honestly, it just looked like a normal cafeteria. The floor was white marble and the entire walls were covered with windows making it possible to view the entire city of Sky Hook. A few rectangular black tables with benches were scattered around the room. A buffet like station positioned at the end of the room with metal platers filled with all kind of different foods.

What immediately made Jungkook uncomfortable were the two people that were already there sitting in the same table with plates full. The one with his back turned to him had messy black hair in a mullet style, what looked like hunting clothes and – a crow on their shoulder? Whatever Jungkook wasn’t one to judge. They was nodding at whatever the other person was talking animatedly. The other person though made Jungkook wince automatically.

The person was loud to say the least. His hair was fluffy and light brown, he was moving his hands all over the place while he told the other one what seemed a crazy story, his eyes – one brown and the other one green widening dramatically when he got to the important part and to complete his outgoing persona, he was wearing an oversized tie-dye shirt that hung from his broad shoulders.

Jungkook shakily made his way towards the buffet, considering just phasing and grabbing a few things for his tourist trip around Talos. But Jungkook was a lot of things and a coward wasn’t one of them. He felt a pair of eyes on him as he got closer to the tables and he was sure they belonged to the colorful one. “Well that’s a face I haven’t seen before” a playful voice chirped in.

_Be nice. They’re your competition._

_Run back to the elevator_.

 _Ignore him_.

This time he couldn’t help but to roll his eyes. However, he decided to avoid the two and fix himself a plate. Out of the corner of the eye he saw the black haired one shrug his shoulders at colorful, this time he could catch a glimpse of his face. Red almost glowing eyes framed with strong eyebrows, they wore a serious expression. “Hey! Buddy! I was talking to you.” Colorful had stood up from his seat and was now walking towards him.

He quickly grabbed what looked the tastiest to him which happened to be chocolate-filled croissants. Unaware of how close the other had gotten he was immediately startled when a voice whispered in his head

 _Move. He’s gonna touch you_.

Flinching, he turned around fast enough to almost drop his plate, taking a step backward. His free hand raising defensively, forming a fist.

“Easy there, geez” Colorful had a smug grin on his face, with an eyebrow raises. “We just want to get to know our new roommate, nothing wrong with that right?”. Jungkook frowned and looked between him and the two of them. Noticing the red eyes now looking him curiously, studying him. “I’m Seokjin, but since we’re all roomies, you can call me Jin” he ran his hand through his fluffy hair and smiled.

“The quiet one with the creepy bird sitting on the table is Taehyung”. Taehyung didn’t react and kept enjoying their meal feeding bits and pieces to their crow. A couple of awkward seconds of silence went by, Jungkook still staring intensively at and Seokjin cleared up his throat, “Care to introduce yourself buddy or…”.

Jungkook focused on Seokjin again. He didn’t like this one bit, he felt as the other two were studying his every reaction. He eyed him warily, expecting one of the voices to say something about the situation but silence filled his head. He hadn’t been excited over meeting other people during his stay in Talos for the Apex Games, but he didn’t really think it was going to be this tense to socialize with participants. His lack of social skills often made encounters awkward not deadly silence.

Seokjin raised his eyebrows and gave him an expectant look, “C’mon don’t you just give me that _blank stare_ ” he joked, making Taehyung throw an unimpressed look, but to Jungkook it had hit him hard. “Get it? Cause your eyes- well”.

 _They’re making fun of you_.

 _Leave, leave, leave_.

 _Not safe. Not safe_.

Purple sparks started appearing on his arms, causing Jin to take a step backward with wide eyes, gulping nervously. Jungkook could literally _feel_ his eyes glowing. Causing Taehyung to raise one of their eyebrows, curiously. 

“Say that again and you won’t make it to the games”. Jungkook’s voice came out hoarse. He threw his hand backward and opened a portal, a black oval opened behind him surrounded by purple sparks. Crackling sounds filled the room, Jin looking ready to turn away and leave, slowly Jungkook grabbed a napkin from the table and crumpled it before tossing it into the portal, sending it into another dimension.

Jungkook waved his hands and the portal closed itself with a loud crack sound. The poor napkin nowhere to be found. Jin stood with his mouth gaping like a fish trying to form words, while Taehyung had an amused smile while sipping their coffee. “And my name is Jungkook, _buddy”._ He muttered before going back to the buffet table, helping himself with more food.

Taehyung spoke, with a surprisingly deep voice, “Welcome to Talos, Jungkook”.

·

·

· 

**Jungkook**

**Jung Hoseok**

**Kim Seokjin**

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**Kim Taehyung**

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	2. 18:00 Talos Standard Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who founded the games?

Talos, Jungkook learned, was a very diverse planet. Although it was mesmerizing, it was also extremely hot due to the lava river that stretched all through the terrain. It was all new and overwhelming for him. Sky Hook was relatively calmer than the rest of the other competitor’s residences and he was eternally grateful.

He spent his first day on Talos exploring the planet. Mostly to see if any of the IMC abandoned facilities were open for the public, however, he found himself enjoying his walk around the unknown planet. His eyes widening like plates when he caught a glimpse of the gigantic _Hammond Industries_ Rocketship station.

Hammond Industries didn’t have a good reputation, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t powerful. It was responsible for the different mineral harvesters placed on a considerable number of planets to explode their resources. Oh— and Hammond Industries was also responsible for the creation of killer robots.

So far, Jungkook felt giddy with excitement over the new scenery, new room, and new opportunities. He wore a small grin everywhere he went, glancing upwards to the tallest skyscrapers in the big city or curiously looking down the dangerous lava river. If he ignored the real reason why he was able to do these things, Jungkook could say that things were looking up to him, finally. Well, almost everything.

After his awkward introductions with two of his—roommates? building mates? neighbors? — Jungkook decided to keep himself low-key for the rest of his stay. Don’t get him wrong though, he wished he could at least make an acquaintance or two. Frankly, because he was hoping to have a few alliances when the games started so he wasn’t completely by himself. Like he had been for his _entire life_. However, he didn’t beat himself down over this. His social skills— or rather lack of — made maintaining a conversation an impossible task.

Which is why, after an exhausting day of sightseeing he was shocked to find the tv in his room turned on with an image that said, “Welcome Party”. Sitting carefully on the bed and taking off his gloves, an audio started to play, startling him.

_“ **Good evening, participant.**_

**_It’s our pleasure, to invite you to the official Welcoming Party that will be hosted in the Train Yard tomorrow at 18:00 TST. Please make sure to wear the outfit that has been left in your closet_ ** _”._

A party? Jungkook assumed assistance was mandatory. It had been a little— _very—_ reckless of him to sign up to the Apex Games without having knowledge of what being a participant implied. Because seriously, what even were the Apex Games?

All he knew is that he would be battling against 80 other contestants until one of them was the last one “alive”. However, no one really died in the Apex Games, serious injuries were a common thing, but the Respawn Medical Team made sure that none of the contestants lost their life in the arena.

He imagined that the whole Welcoming Party's purpose was to give them further instructions about their training.

_Do we really have to go?_

One of the voices spoke, with a whiny tone. He let out a chuckle, “I know right?”. Jungkook spoke out loud but got no answer.

He rarely talked back to the voices, not really comfortable after all these years with the idea of listening to different versions of himself. But sometimes— not quite often really, some of them were funny or caring, making him feel like he mattered to someone.

He got up from the bed, his muscles protesting from all the walking he did today. He wasn’t a picky person when it came to his outfit choices, he didn’t have a fashion style either. But that didn’t mean he was going to wear some ridiculous outfit to the party tomorrow. He’d rather not go and just ask annoying Jin to explain the logistics of the games instead.

Thankfully, the outfit he was supposed to wear wasn’t that bad. Just a black tracksuit with his name and his registration number on the right, written in white. He appreciated the color selection, grateful that he wasn’t going to wear anything neon-colored.

Deciding to take a warm bath to help with his sore muscles, he headed into the bathroom, avoiding his reflection. He made sure to massage his legs, working thoroughly on the knots, not wanting to be sore tomorrow.

He hummed to himself a tune he had known for as long as he could remember. The melody never failed in making him feel less lonely. Maybe his mom used to sing it to him, or his dad used to play it on the radio. Had he even had parents? He would often imagine what it would be like if he was never experimented on. He would fantasize about his family and how he had grown up.

Obviously, his motivation to participate in the games was to find all the information about himself and even his family. Starting with something as simple as his last name. 

Still, any memory that he ever created with them was long gone, and he would never get it back.

He went to bed with a heavy heart that night.

***

So far, Jungkook had only met two of the people he was sharing building with: Jin and Taehyung. But he hadn’t seen the rest of them, which Jungkook assumed were more. It wasn’t until he went to the cafeteria to get lunch, that he spotted two unfamiliar faces sitting beside each other.

One of them was aggressively tapping on his laptop. He had black hair, with a white strand at the front. His lips were pursed as he stared at his laptop screen, completely focused. He wore a neon green bomber jacket with a white oversized shirt underneath. 

The other one had a different vibe. His hair was mint green and fell messily over his feline eyes. He wasn’t staring at the laptop though; he was gazing at the window with a bored look on his face. His clothes were completely black, a long-sleeved shirt with a leather harness. Weirdly, he had a gas mask hanging from his neck but Jungkook wasn’t one to judge. He was holding what seemed to be an electronic cigarette, putting it lazily to his lips inhaling, only to release green clouds of smoke.

“Honestly RM, keep tapping a little harder and that fancy laptop of yours will fall through the table” He inhaled another puff of green smoke before releasing it through his nostrils.

“Fuck off, Yoongi. You know I still have a lot of catching up to do” RM didn't even glance at Yoongi and continue to rapidly move his hands across the keyboard.

Jungkook tried to not repeat the same breakfast fiasco from the other day and entered the cafeteria as quietly as possible. Which of course didn’t remain unseen by one of them.

‘Yoongi’ raised an eyebrow at him and looked him up and down before looking away, still playing with the odd cigarette between his lips.

“How many people are staying in this building? I swear I see a different face every single day.” The mint haired one complained loudly before putting the cigarette away and putting on his gas mask. RM looked at him weirdly before glancing at what—or rather who had caught Yoongi’s attention. Jungkook was putting together a plate of steak and steamed vegetables, ignoring the eyes that burned holes on his back.

“According to the number of floors-“

“There’s at least seven of us, yeah, yeah.” Yoongi interrupted rudely but his companion didn’t seem to mind. Probably used to his attitude.

RM let out a groan and turned back to his laptop screen, “This is impossible”. He ran a hand across his hair, messing it up slightly a few strands falling on his forehead. “I’m not going to be able to erase the data remotely. Gonna have to do everything manually in order to access the database”.

Yoongi frowned at him. “Can’t you try to access the main computer?”. To which RM only shook his head. “Something may be interfering with the system’s network”. He glanced to Jungkook once again and squinted his eyes, “But we really shouldn’t discuss an important matter such as this in the cafeteria”.

Ignoring the obvious jabs at him, Jungkook sat in the table further away from them and began digging into his food. Refraining himself from moaning at the taste.

RM eyes fell on him once again. Jungkook lifted his gaze and locked eyes with him, without wavering. Until RM widened his eyes in realization and finally averted his gaze.

An awkward silence fell in the room, obviously the pair didn’t want to discuss further more in Jungkook’s presence and Jungkook himself wasn’t keen on starting a conversation.

The soft ding from the elevator, broke the tense atmosphere and heavy metal footsteps could be heard. “Man, I am HUNGRY. Running for two hours really opens the appetite”.

Immediately recognizing the voice from the train, Jungkook tried to keep himself from groaning out loud and just enjoy his lunch.

“Hello my nice, friendly train buddy”. He addressed Jungkook with a blinding smile and Jungkook grimaced. “Stoner and Hackerman, good to see you, too”.

Yoongi muttered under his breath, “For fuck’s sake not again”.

Hoseok wasn’t fazed by the hostile comment and made his way towards the buffet station, “Y’know, I haven’t seen any of you at the gym. Good to know that I won’t be having any competition then”.

RM closed his laptop brusquely. “Some of us have powers that don’t involve physical activity, Jung”.

He threw his head back and cackled, “Well, some of us aren’t lame, RM”. Jungkook eyes widened when he realized how fast Hoseok was going through the food, his arms moved in blurry motions grabbing a serving of everything on the table. “Y’all live a very _slow_ lifestyle”. Before turning to Jungkook, “No offense J, but I have no idea what your abilities are”.

Three pair of eyes fell onto him, and he shifted uncomfortably until RM spoke, “Actually, Hoseok. Jungkook’s abilities are quite... extraordinary” He smirked smugly and stood up before making his way to the elevator. Yoongi following behind closely. “See all of you gentlemen at the welcoming party”. He bowed politely before the elevator doors closed.

Leaving Jungkook with one thought in his head,

How the hell did he know his name?

***

Hues of pink and purple decorated the Talos afternoon skies, Jungkook was thankful that the temperature was fresh when he stepped out of train. The train yard consisted in several containers scattered across a grass field, all of them with colorful graffitis of the Apex Games. A big floating stage could be seen, with a giant screen behind it. Pictures and footage from previous games were being shown.

Jungkook thought he had seen crowds before, but nothing could compare to the hundreds of people standing in front of the stage, some of them climbing the containers to get a better view. He knew he was currently standing between his future competitors, the ones that were going to pull the trigger on him. He shuddered.

“Welcome everyone to the 16th Apex Games opening ceremony!” A tall, light brown skinned man stepped onto the stage. He was wearing a white tuxedo that matched his hair and a short beard. Claps and cheers could be heard among the crowd while the man smiled brightly. “As some of you may know, my name is Kuben Blisk” He put his hands together as he studied the faces in front of him. “Founder of the Apex Games”.

“I served in the IMC’s forces as a ranking commander during the Frontier war”. At this Jungkook took a sharp intake of breath. “Years after the war ended, I decided to found the Apex Games in order to keep a very old tradition alive”. He paced around the stage, looking proud of his accomplishments.

 _He worked for the people that tortured you_.

“For those of you who may not know...” he cut himself off, with a small laugh. “And honestly, how could you not know unless you’ve been living all these years with prowlers” The crowd laughed. Jungkook remained unfazed, he had no idea what a “prowler” was.

“The Apex Games consist of several challenges and one final battle where the winner takes it all. As you may have noticed, there’re more than 80 people here today, which is why during these twelve lunar months of preparation, elimination challenges will take place. Until we are left with only 80 lucky competitors who will travel to Solace, and fight on the grounds of Kings Canyon”.

“You will be separated depending on your residence location and will be trained in gun fighting, wrestling and most importantly control of your abilities”.

“The final battle will go on for as long as needed until only one of you is left standing. To ensure that none of you will remain hidden, one of our former lead electricity manager engineers, Park Jihyun, designed a very impressive artifact. And who better to explain it than his own son, please give a warm welcome to one of this year’s participants: Park Jimin!”.

The crowd erupted in cheers as a short blond haired boy stepped on the stage. He was wearing the same tracksuit as the other contestants, with the exception of white leather gloves that covered his hands. Jungkook thought it was unfair that someone who had that amount of knowledge about the arena mechanics was able to participate in the games.

 _That makes him the perfect ally_.

“Thank you, Mr. Blisk. Now, during the last battle each and every one of the contestants will be given a holographic map on a wrist band, that will show which areas of the arena are safe from the storm”. He moved his hands animatedly and it was only then that Jungkook noticed the scars that covered both of his cheeks.

At first, he thought it was makeup. Dramatic makeup was common for these type of events in the Outlands. But the lines that ran across his cheeks, were dark pink and branched off... as if he’d been struck by lightning.

 _Pay attention to what he’s saying_.

One of the voices scolded him grumpily.

“The storm, as we like to call it, is nothing other than a ring that will start closing around the map, until there’s no space left or until a winner is declared. The ring is programmed to hurt anyone who’s outside of it. If a person spends too much time outside of the ring, they will pass out from the pain and will be eliminated from the competition.” Jimin explained with a deep frown, his deep blue eyes showing nothing but determination. “Please make sure to keep an eye on your maps and always stay inside the ring”.

Kuben returned to the stage, clapping his hands cheerfully. As if Jimin had not just explained that not only the other competitors will try to kill them, but the arena as well. “Thank you, Mr. Park. Everyone, please enjoy your stay in this beautiful planet, and take your training sessions seriously. You will need it”. An eerily silence fell into the arena, shocked expressions and nervous glances between the people from the crowd. “Now let the party begin!”

***

Jungkook had come to the party thinking that he was going to clarify some doubts he had about the games, but it seemed that, after that presentation, he was left with more questions.

If the founder had worked for the IMC before, why didn’t he turn Jungkook in when he registered? Weren’t they looking for him? He tried to keep up with the news the second he escaped the laboratories back in Kings Canyon. But nothing was said on the media which made him believe that maybe what had happened to him wasn’t entirely legal.

Maybe only the people that worked for the now closed laboratories were the ones that knew about him. He would have to find out as soon as he got there. And for that, he’d have to get through every single challenge and become one of the eighty people to travel to Solace for the final battle.

Another thing that was bothering, was Park Jimin. If his father had worked for the Apex Games, why did he have the same scars as he did? Was it possible that he was experimented on as well? How was he going to get this information out of him?

Competitors were chatting with each other animatedly, as Jungkook pushed his way through them to grab himself a drink. He wasn’t much of a drinker, but he could appreciate a cocktail once in a while, especially if his thoughts were racing and his anxiety going through the roof. He skimmed through the menu and decided to order a Mandarin Mirage.

His eyes scanned the multitude, but he couldn’t recognize anyone. Everyone looked the same with the stupid black tracksuits. A robot, that looked exactly like the ones in the train walked up to him with a tray and a tall glass filled with an orange looking cocktail. He nodded in gratitude and begin sipping on his drink. 

The party itself wasn’t so bad. Soft music came out of the speakers that were scattered all over the yard, robots were offering delicious appetizers and fancy drinks to the contestants and nobody seemed to be causing trouble or being exceptionally loud. That until…

“Heya JK!” Jin appeared out of nowhere and leaned over Jungkook’s shoulder. He was wearing the same tracksuit as everyone else. ‘Kim Seokjin’ and his registration number (647243) could be read on the right side of the suit. And of course, he had to wear something colorful to try to compensate for the bland outfit. He had tamed his light brown curls with a red bandana.

Now, call Jungkook crazy (a few people had done that already) but even though Jin was leaning on him, he couldn’t feel his weight. It was as if he wasn’t there at all. Jungkook furrowed his brows and try to push him off him.

Only for his hand to go through him, causing him to vanish leaving a few bright blue particles behind.

_What._

_Did we kill him?_

Jungkook panicked and looked around him. “Don’t you know it’s rude to push a hologram?”. Jin appeared behind him, wearing a yellow bandana instead.

Was he drunk already?

Blinking several times, Jungkook tried to push his hand against him, to check if he was really there. his gloved fingers making contact with hard muscles. “Woah careful there! At least buy me a drink first.”

Not even bothering to be polite, Jungkook spat out “What the fuck just happened?”.

Jin’s playful grin softened before explaining. “See, not all of us have freakish soul-sucking powers”. His green and brown eyes stared at him amusedly, “I see you’ve met one of my decoys”. Jin waved his right hand, and a bunch of blue particles started appearing until an exact copy of him formed right before Jungkook’s eyes. This one wearing an orange bandana. “They can move on their own, and mostly think on their one until they collide with something”.

“Pretty impressive, am I right?” Jungkook nodded reluctantly. He was sure Jin had some kind of advantage, if he were to send one or more decoys it would be hard to recognize the real one on the battlefield.

This time instead of taking just a sip, Jungkook took a big gulp of his drink, vodka burning his throat. He had definitely touched Jin inappropriately and now was left with him in an awkward encounter. His hands were shaking slightly, and he tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut by taking another gulp.

_Calm Down._

_Slow down your drinking, you’re vulnerable when you’re drunk._

There it was. The caring mother undertone that he rarely experienced.

Jin was quick to order a drink of his own, before turning back to stare at Jungkook.

“I must say JK I’ve never met someone as intesti- interis- mysterious as you”. He struggled with his words but finished his sentence with a smirk. Not knowing how to respond, Jungkook raised an eyebrow at him. As if he was daring to say something wrong.

“I’m NOT saying that’s a bad thing of course”. The decoy behind him was playing with his bandana, fixing the knot that tied it together at the front. “It’s just well…”. He trailed off before his eyes focused on something else behind him.

“Isn’t that? Ayo Jimin!”. He waved his arms, the hologram doing the same until one of the robots bumped into him making him disappear. Jin cursed lowly under his breath.

Jungkook was quick to react, “You know Park Jimin?”.

The other turned to him, cocking his head to the side with a curious expression, “Yeah, we both grew up in Solace, his dad worked for the IMC and my brothers served as soldiers”.

_Did everyone work for the damn IMC?_

“We both lived near the marketplace in Kings Canyon. The galaxy is pretty small you know?”

 _It sure is._

·

·

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**RM**

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**Min Yoongi**

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**Park Jimin**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally we get to meet bts!


End file.
